1927 Book Reviews

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Kentucky Law Journal Volume 16 | Issue 1 Article 10 1927 Book Reviews Charles J. Turck Woodson D. Sco W. Lewis Roberts University of Kentucky Roy Mitchell Moreland University of Kentucky Colvin P. Rouse Follow this and additional works at: hps://uknowledge.uky.edu/klj Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits you. is Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Kentucky Law Journal by an authorized editor of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Recommended Citation Turck, Charles J.; Sco, Woodson D.; Roberts, W. Lewis; Moreland, Roy Mitchell; and Rouse, Colvin P. (1927) "Book Reviews," Kentucky Law Journal: Vol. 16 : Iss. 1 , Article 10. Available at: hps://uknowledge.uky.edu/klj/vol16/iss1/10

Transcript of 1927 Book Reviews

Kentucky Law Journal

Volume 16 | Issue 1 Article 10

1927

Book ReviewsCharles J. Turck

Woodson D. Scott

W. Lewis RobertsUniversity of Kentucky

Roy Mitchell MorelandUniversity of Kentucky

Colvin P. Rouse

Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/kljRight click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefitsyou.

This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Kentucky LawJournal by an authorized editor of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected].

Recommended CitationTurck, Charles J.; Scott, Woodson D.; Roberts, W. Lewis; Moreland, Roy Mitchell; and Rouse, Colvin P. (1927) "Book Reviews,"Kentucky Law Journal: Vol. 16 : Iss. 1 , Article 10.Available at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/klj/vol16/iss1/10

BOOK REVIEWSCRImiNAL INTErLIGENcE. By Call Murchison. Worcester,

Mass. Clark University, 1926, pp. 291.This book contains the most complete studies of large crim-

inal groups that have ever been made. They are based on Dr.Murchison's work in numerous prisons where he gave the Alphatest to the inmates, and he has carefully compared the resultswith the statistics of the American Army on the same test. Theconclusions of the author are startling and will not commanduniverstal assent, but his facts deserve the most thorough in-vestigation by psychologists, socialogists and lawyers.

The author avoids a flat declaration that the criminals ofAmerica are more intelligent than was the American Army."Such an inference," he declares, "might not be true." But headds, "there is probably no proof to the contrary." In takingthis position, Dr. Murchison is not belittling the intelligence ofthe army, but is fighting the idea that the criminal classes pos-sess a lower average intelligence than the adult civil populationof which the army was fairly representative. His central attackis on the propaganda "which creates the impression that thecriminal is feeble-minded and an individual to be fawned overand petted." He is convinced that much harm has beendone by such propaganda and his remarkable collection of factsrather completely demolishes the notion that a man becomes acriminal largely because he is stupid.

Evidently there is something other than the kind of intelli-gence which is demonstrated by the Alpha test that explains thecriminal character. In such a test, no allowances can possiblybe made for the moral elements of temperament and self-con-trol. If lack of intelligence is not the characteristic of the crim-inal, then it may be that we shall find that the invisible and in-tangible qualities of the heart have the final authority in lifeand determine whether each life shall be social or anti-social,benevolent or criminal.

Dr. Murchison's discussion of "Legal Punishment" will beof particular interest to lawyers. He strenuously opposes thematernalistic fallacy that the criminal may be too young to bepunished or that his feeble-mindedness or insanity should excusehim from punishment. "Is there any reason why young crim-

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inals of college age should not receive the death penalty formurder, or a long sentence in the penitentiary for robbery? Ap-proximately one-fourth of all criminals are of this age. Intelli-gence, as tested by mental tests, does not increase after this age.The average individual has comipleted his formal education evenbefore this age. The influence of the home has already passedits maximum. The influence of religion has begun to wane. Allthe methods of love have been tried for all the years of his younglife, and have failed. What earthly logic or sense is there forassuming that such an individual is too young to hang or to besent to prison? All the facts are against the validity of such anassumption. The maternlistie methods having failed already,the logical procedure is swift, sure, and severe punishment."

The remedies suggested by Dr. Murchison are these:

1. The abolishment of the jury sytem.2. Uniform punishment for the insane, the feeble-minded,

and the young.3. The abolition of the system of release on bond.4. The abolition of the indeterminate sentence.5. The abolition of the parole system.6. The application of the deterministic philosophy to the

behaviour of the State as well as to the behaviour of the criminal.7. The third penitentiary conviction to carry an automatic

death penalty.

In view of such suggestions, one might venture to call Dr.Murchison "hard-boiled" without much exaggeration. Withoutaccepting his proposals, however, the reader is likely to feel afterreading the book, that his own thinking concerning the state'sattitude toward the criminal needs considerable revision, withthe emphasis not so much on the individual criminal as on therights of society as a whole. C J. TURcK.

HANDBOOK or INTERNATIONAL LAW. By George GraftonWilson. Second Edition. The Hornbook Series. St. Paul: WestPublishing Company. 1927. pp. xx, 567.

While the revolutionary changes in international law, whichmany expected as a result of the World War have not material-

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ized, as Professor Wilson points out in the preface to the secondedition of his well known handbook on international law; therehave been enough changes to render a careful rewriting of histext necessary. He has found it necessary to make extensiveadditions in regard to the League and the Permanent Court ofInternational Justice. The number of citations and referencesto source material has been very greatly increased and the datesof decisions have been inserted. A very complete bibliographyhas been included and the appendex now contains importantinternational documents. The whole treatise has been carefullyand fully indexed.

Over-compression, possibly, renders the book less readablethan one could wish. The author has taken an ultra conservativeview of his subject and insofar as he gives rather more space tointernational relations that arise from a state of war than hedoes to those that arise from a state of peace, he seems to be outof sympathy with the more progressive internationalists of theday.

As an outline for beginners in the study of internationallaw the books fill an important place.

TnE DEPARTMENT OF JusTIcE op THE UNITED STATES. ByAlbert Laugeluttig. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press. 1927.pp. xix, 334.

This book is one of a series of studies in administration pub-lished by the Institute for Government Researel It was pre-pared by the author as a doctoral dissertation in the Departmentof Political Science at The Johns Hopkins University. The widejcope of the subject covered was made possible by the fact thatthe author had at his disposal during its preparation the entirelibrary facilities of the Institute.

The theme of this study, as stated by the author in the pre-face, has to do with "the organization and administration of theservices within the executive or administrative branch of thegovernment having for their function the prevention of infrac-tions of the law and the detection and prosecution of those guilty-of such infractions." It is thus evident that it covers a part ofthe field of adjective law.

The scope and purpose of this study is best stated in thewords of the author: "It seeks to trace the rise and develop-

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ment of the central agency that has been created by the nationalgovernment for the performance of its task of enforcing the lawfor which the national government is responsible, and to describeihe present organization, powers, and duties of that agency.Though the Department of Justice is the central and themost important, of the law enforcement agencies of the nationalgovernment, it is by no means the only one. All of the depart-ments have large responsibilities for the enforcement of lawsgoverning matters coming under their jurisdiction. In a num-ber of the other departments there are, moreover, important spe-cial services for the detection of the infraction of particularlaws. In some cases the Department of Justice is exclusivelyresponsible for both the detection of infractions of law and thebringing of those guilty of such infractions before the courts forprosecution. In others the responsibility of the Department ofJustice begins only when its assistance is sought in bringingbefore the courts and handling matters that have originated inother departments. One of the most important aspects of theDepartment of Justice is its relation to other law enforcementagencies. This phase of the problem has been given especialattention. It is hoped, that this study will be of value, notmerely in giving information concerning a particular service,but in aiding to a better comprehension of the large problem oflaw enforcement generally as it confronts the national govern-ment."

The material used in this study is well organized. This isa very valuable feature of a work of this nature. The bibliog-raphy is extensive anc! apparently includes all of the availablematerial that is relevant to the subject. The appendix containsan outline of the organization of the Department of Justice andother valuable data. A table of citations following the appendixadds greatly to the usefulness of the material. Any case, statute,or other bit of material used in the text can be located at once byreference to this table of citations.

WOODSON D. SCOTT.

CASES ON THE LAw OF ADnnntLTY. By George deForestLord and George C. Sprague. American Casebook Series. St,Paul: West Publishing Company. 1926. xxxvi, 837.

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Many interesting legal questions are presented in Ad-miralty; What waters of the United States are subject to itsjurisdiction? What effect does state legislation have? Whatare the limits of sovereign immunity? What rights have mari-time workers? What are the rights of one who salvages a vessel?How does the maritime insurance differ from other insurance?What are the rights and liabilities of the parties in the case ofcollision? These and many more problems fully as interestingare presented in Professors Lord and Sprague's collection ofcases on the law of admiralty.

Admiralty is a branch of the law that the average lawyerknows very little about and even in our seaports admiraltybusiness is usually handled by a few lawyers who specialize inthat line of work. Courses heretofore have been offered in a fewlaw schools, and in the form of lecture courses meeting once aweek for one half year. As our foreign trade is increasing rap-idly and is bound to continue to increase, the need of a workingknowledge of admiralty law will become more general. Also asadmiralty law -is closely akin to international law and interestin international law is being aroused more and more in thiscountry, it would seem that the demand for courses in admiraltylaw will soon be felt and that the editors of this selection ofcases are justified in putting out a cascook in this subject.Then, too, if it does not matter so much what is taught as itdoes how it is taught, law schools would be fully justified inoffering a course in admiralty in place of courses now offered insubjects that have very little disciplinary value.

At first glance it might seem that the compilers in devotingseventy-five pages to the subject of marine insurance were dupli-cating work covered in the course of insurance. While the sub-ject of marine insurance is usually included in selections ofcases used in general courses of insurance, it has been the prac-tice of the reviewer to omit such sections and that is probably thegeneral practice with teachers of insurance.

The editors have added very full notes containing not onlycitations of cases and references to articles in law reviews butmatter supplementing the text. An appendix contains forms forcharter parties, navigation rules, pilot rules for inland waters,end sections of United States statutes pertaining to navigation.

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The editors are to be complimented upon the result of their

labors as they have produced a very scholarly piece of work.W. Lnwis RosERTS.

EQUITY PLEADING AND PRACTICE. By Walter C. Clephane.St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1926. pp. XIV, 605.

Clephane on Equity Pleading and Practice is a timely addi-

tion to the Hornbook series. Gradually, but surely, changes

have been introduced into the system of equity pleading and

practice in use in this country, which, coupled with the radical

departures in the Federal Equity Rules of 1912 create a demand

for a new treatment of this subject.Nevertheless, the author draws largely upon the learning

stored in past treatises and does not hesitate to cite rather cop-

iously from them at times. This is espcially true as to Shipman.on. Equity Pleading.

The author's style is generally clear and pleasing. One

finds though a tendancy on his part to insert abstracts of par-

ticular cases into the body of the book as a substitute for a clear,general statement of the law on the particular problem. Suchabstracts are usually as illustrative if placed in the foot-notesand they do not take the place of an abstract statement of therule.

Chapter 5 on the Contents of Particular Bills is especiallywell written. The treatment of the usual bills in equity is therehandled in a most instructive manner. In the numerous formsfound in the appendix the student and practitioner alike willfind practical, suggestive material.

The printing is clear, large, and upon a good grade of paper.'Vital points of the subject, as usual in the Hornbooks, are im-pressed upon the mind of the reader by black-letter analyses.

Roy MORELAND.

TE STATE AS A PARTY LITIGANT. By Robert Dorsey Wat-kins. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1927, xii, 212.

"The State as a Party Litigant?' is Number I of the Forty-fifth Series of the Johns Hopkins University Studies in Histor-ical and political Science, prepared under the joint direction ofthe Departments of History, Political Economy, and Political

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Science. The sources of the material used in making this studyis given -by the author in the preface as follows: "This study isthe outgrowth of a series of lectures on Political Theory by Pro-fessor W. W. Willoughby, and on Constitutional and. Interna-tional Law by President Goodnow."

The doctrine of non-sueability of the state is well establishedin the law. There is no dispute as to this fact and to prove ordisprove it is not the problem with which the author is con-fronted. His problem is to justify the doctrine on some logicalor rational basis. He attempts to do this by considering inminute detail the conflicting views as to the origin and sourcesof this doctrine and the fundamental prinieples governing its

long historical evolution. The difficulty of this task is obviouswhen we realize the broad historical background that must becovered in order to get at the roots of the problem and to trace

the history of its development from the beginning.

After an extended historical treatment of the origin, sourcesand development of the doctrine of non-sueability of the state,the author proceeds with a more analytical and critical discussion,of state and governmental imnunity in the United States. This

latter phase of the discussion seems to be the important thing inthe mind. of the writer, the end to which the historical discussionis only a means. We cannot conceive of a more desirable methodof approach to a problem of this nature.

In chapter eleven we are given a discussion of the positionof the state before the courts of foreign countries. The authorsets forth in clear and concise language both the status of thestate before foreign courts and the basis of the doctrine of whichsuch status is the result. This is one of the most interesting andinstructive chapters in this study because it deals with an ex-tremely important phase of a very delicate problem.

In chapter twelve, the concluding chapter of this study, the

author attempts to summarize, correlate and restate the numer-

ous theoretical considerations and arguments set forth in the

first eleven chapters. This he does with some degree of skill andwith partial success. But the critical reader is hardly satisfied

with the summation of the theories and the conclusion. We must

bear in mind, however, that it is not always possible satisfactorily

to reconcile a large number of conflicting theories and views

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within a limited space and draw therefrom a single conclusionthat is immune from adverse criticism.

The table of contents is arranged by chapter headings, thusgiving a topic outline of the study. A table of cases adds greatlyto the usability of the material, a large part of which is gleanedfrom cases. There is also a topic index at the end. This isespecially valuable because by reference to it the reader caninstantly locate all of the material in the study on a particularpoint no matter how greatly diffused it may be in the text.

WOODSoN D. SCOTT.

ESSENTIALS OhI PUBLIC SPE mNG. By Warren C. DuBois.New York: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1926. pp. viii, 154.

It is an accepted fact that the man who is a power in hiscommunity is the man who can adapt himself to all circum-stances, make a good public appearance, and speak clearly, con-cisely, and extemporaneously -on all occasions. A man with suchability gains at once the admiration and respect of those withwhom he is associated. Though it may seem questionable tosome, everybody, with the exception of those physically handi-capped, has the opportunity to become a forceful, convincingspeaker. If a person fails to take advantage of his opportunityand to become a capable speaker it is his own fault, for theability to speak is acquired only by training and practice.

To aid people in acquiring this ability to speak is thepurpose of the new book "Essentials of Public Speaking" byWarren C. DuBois. With its concise but complete arrangement,it is in itself a complete course of public speaking. All phasesof public speaking are discussed, and thoroughly tested solutionsto the speaker's problems are suggested. The book containsmany practical exercises to develop not only the speaker's vocalorgans but also his pronunciation and manner of speaking. Itis especially important'as it touches the every-day, practicalproblems that the speaker is called to meet, such as how to appealto different types of audiences, and as to what words are mostdesirable to use.

Mr. DuB ois is a well-known New York lawyer and instruc-tor of public speaking at New York University. The book isfilled with results of his fourteen years' teaching experience, and

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sc is especially fitting to short concise courses of public speaking.There is an exceptionally fine collection of selections for prac-tice, that eliminates the necessity of the instructor's collectingoutside material for class use. The book should be of greatvalue to both teachers and students of public speaking.

HANDBOOK ON THE CONLICT OF LAWS. By Herbert F.Goodrich. St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing 0o., 1927. pp. xii,500.

Professor Goodrich's treatise on the subject of Conflict ofLaws is a valuable contribution to the popular Hornbook series.Its appearance is timely as there is no other book on this subjectof recent date and also because many changes have been made inlaw in this subject during the past quarter of a century. Theworks of Story, Wharton, and Minor are already out of date. Thepracticing lawyer as well as the student should. therefore wel-come such a scholarly, up-to-date treatise on the subject asProfessor Goodrich has given us.

His work reflects the latest views on the many interestingquestions that have arisen in the -field of conflict of laws. Forinstance there has been the gradual overthrow of the old maximof mobilia sequuntur personam and the acceptanec of the rulethat the situs of personal property should govern as the UnitedStates Supreme Court held ih the recent case of Frick v. Penn-sylvania.

In the matter of giving full faith and credit to the divorcedecrees of sister states, the author expresses his disagreementwith the position of the Supreme Court of the United States. Tothe reviewer, the principle laid down by this court in Athertonv. Atherton and Haddock v. Haddock to the effect that a courtcannot dissolve the marriage relation unless it has jurisdictionover the matrimonial domicile as well as over the parties, seemssound. 'While this rule has created uncertainty in the legalstatus of families involved, as the learned author has pointedout (p. 296), a contrary rule would mean that a state would soonlose control over divorces between its own citizens.

Where there is a division of authority or little or no author-ity on a point, the author has not hesitated to express his ownopinion as to how the law should develop. In the main he has

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followed the lead of our foremost scholar in the field of conflict of

laws, Professor Beale, but has not hesitated to differ with him on

some points. He has frequently referred to Professor Beale's

writings.

One might question the author's treatment of the question

of taxation. He has devoted fifty odd pages to the subject. Mucb.

of his chapter on this interesting subject might better have been

left to a treatise on constitutional law.

The arrangement of the work is that followed by other

writers for the Hornbook series. Chapters and sections are

prefaced by summaries in large black type. These headnotes

are an aid to the student when reviewing and to the practitioner

when searching for a general principle of law. Footnotes give

references to law review articles and thus make available to the

reader much material that is of great value to him. Unfortu-nately an index of cases has been omitted.

Professor Goodrich presents his subject in a most pleasing

manner, his style is clear and concise, and the result is a bookthat is very readable. It is a real addition to legal literature.

W. LEwIs ROBERTS.

PoLIaK PRIZE EssAys. Essays by R. W. Souter, FrederickLaw Olmsted, C. F. Bickerdike, and. Victor ValentinovitchNovogilov. Newton, Massachusetts: Pollack Foundation forEconomic Research. 1927, pp. 132.

BusnmEsS WITHOUT A Buy R. By William Trufant Fosterand Waddill Catchings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.1927, pp. x, 208.

"Profits" was published in 1925 to prove that the profitmotive is the dynamic force of the existing economic order. Aprize of five thousand dollars was offered for the best adversecriticism of the book. Four hundred and thirty-five essays weresubmitted. "Pollak Prize Essays" is a publication of the essayswhich were ranked among the first three by any of the judges.The prize was awarded t6 R. W. Souter, 'teacher in the Uni-versity of Otaga, Dunedin, New Zealand. One of the judges gaveflrst place and two of the judges gave second place to FrederickLaw Olmstead, landscape architect, Brookline, Massachusetts.

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The authors evidently did not agree with the judges. Theysay in commenting on the essays: "We consider Mr. OlmstedI he -best critic among the four hundred and thirty-five; partly,perhaps, because he states our position accurately as far as hegoes, and partly because we agree substantially with all hesays." However, they do not say in express terms that in theiropinion Mr. Olmsted had the best essay, but only that they con-sider him the best critic. The two may or may not mean thesame thifig. The statement is at least ambiguous.

The principal criticism revealed by the four hundred andthirty-five essays was that there is a solution of the problem-which the authors have not clearly stated. In other words, thatit is at least theoretically possible to retain all the essentialattributes of the established economic order, to have, in additionto profits, savings, increased volume of money, increased capitalequipment, increased output and higher standards of living.

"Business Without a Buyer" is an attempt to give in pop-ular form the substance of "Profits." Most of the statistics,charts and abstract theories have been omitted and the authorshave set out the main arguments of "Profits" in a simpler form.

The reading public will undoubtedly welcome this popularedition. Perhaps many who have heretofore successfully resistedevery inclination to investigate the numerous statistics, chartsand theoretical considerations in "Profits" will now seek thesimple truth of the matter as presented in a more readable form.

WOODSON D. ScoTT.

REAL ESTATE Fopm. By Robert F. Thorley and WilliamII. Stickney. New York: Prentice-Hall Inc. 1927, pp. x, 332.

"Real Estate Forms" contains an elaborate selection of bothtemporary and permanent forms to record the routine of prac-tically every phase of business of the general as well as thehighly specialized real estate office. Included are forms essentialto record the transaction of the sales, the rental, the managementand maintenance, the mortgage brokerage, the appraisal, and theco-operative ownership departments of the large office. Theforms are arranged in the sequence of their entry in the officerecords. This arrangement is valuable in that it presents a clearconception of the relative importance of each form and enables

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the reader to visualize the transaction that necessitates its use.In addition there is a legal section giving forms of both long

and short leases with a collection of covenants that are peculiarto leases of office buildings, apartment houses, and the assign-ment of leases. Here, too, are set forth forms of contracts, deeds,bonds, and mortgages.

The authors in their foreword state that it is not within thescope of the book to offer a discussion upon the theory or eco-nomic significance of the various phases of the real estate busi-ness, but rather to afford a selection of the approved forms inuse by the large and experienced real estate organizations. Theyobserve that it is not their purpose to tempt the inexperiencedand the untrained in drafting their own legal documents, butonly to acquaint the young broker with the use and the necessityof the many forms that he shall meet upon entering this business.It seems that they have successfully accomplished this purpose.The book should be of value to the installation accountant andan asset to the real estate broker.

CoLviN P. ROUSE.